Pirc Defense (2. d4 Nf6)
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6
The Pirc Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6. White is to move. 6 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 82,344 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3. Nc3 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.43 (Stockfish, depth 58; best line 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Rg1 c6)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p1n2/8/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 24,524 | |
| 1500-1999 | 39,442 | |
| 2000+ | 18,378 | |
| All | 82,344 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Nc3 | 54,957 (67%) | |
| 3. Bd3 | 15,340 (19%) | |
| 3. e5 | 3,951 (5%) | |
| 3. f3 Lion's Jaw | 2,898 (4%) | |
| 3. Nf3 Roscher Gambit | 1,503 (2%) | |
| 3. Nd2 | 1,215 (1%) | |
| 3. Bg5 | 504 (1%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 429 (1%) |
Master games
20,276 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 23%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) – Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-07
- Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) – LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-04
- ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) – KomodoMCTS 2503.05 (3809) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-08
- KomodoMCTS 2503.05 (3809) – ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-04
- Stockfish dev-20260228-702d4b8c (3796) – Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-21
Highest-rated Lichess games
- puziko52 (2877) – Sunrise34 (2897) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Sunrise34 (2903) – puziko52 (2868) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- puziko52 (2859) – Sunrise34 (2909) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Pirc Defense (1… d6 2. d4) 1. e4 d6 2. d4
Continuations
- Lion Defense: Lion's Jaw B00 · 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. f3
- Pirc Defense: Roscher Gambit B00 · 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nf3
- Czech Defense B07 · 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6
- Lion Defense B07 · 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7
- Pirc Defense (3. Nc3 g6) B07 · 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6
- Philidor Defense: Lion Variation, Sozin Variation C41 · 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bc4 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Qe2 c6 8. a4 exd4
More Pirc Defense lines (all)
- Pirc Defense (1. e4 d6) B00
- Pirc Defense: 150 Attack B07
- Pirc Defense: 150 Attack, Inner Doll Defense B07
- Pirc Defense: 150 Attack, Sveshnikov-Jansa Attack B07
- Pirc Defense: Bayonet Attack B07
- Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation B07
- Pirc Defense: Chinese Variation B07
- Pirc Defense: Kholmov System B07
- Pirc Defense: Sveshnikov System B07
- Pirc Defense: Classical Variation (3… g6 4. Nf3) B08
- Pirc Defense: Classical Variation (4. Nf3 Bg7) B08
- Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System B08
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.